DAD AND DAVE FROM SNAKE GULLY first went to air in 1937. In a quintessential Australian drama, these archetypal characters displayed a recognisable brand of bush humour which the public lapped up.

Created by radio actor and producer George Edwards the series ran for 16 years - an astonishing 2,276 episodes - finishing shortly after Edward's death in 1953. Known also as the 'Man with a thousand voices', Edwards voiced the part of Dad Rudd, along with up to 10 other characters! Dave was played by John Saul, and Mum was played by Nell Stirling (Co-creator of Dad and Dave from Snake Gully, and married to George Edwards).

BACKGROUND

Starting with Steele Rudd's book ON OUR SELECTION, published in 1899, the affectionately humourous bush stories of Dad Rudd, his not-so-bright son Dave, and the whole Rudd family were hugely popular in Australia.

The dramatic rights were bought in 1912 by actor and entreprenueur Bert Bailey, who enjoyed a successful stage career as Dad for nearly 20 years. Raymond Longford directed the first (silent) feature film of ON OUR SELECTION in 1920 and with the coming of sound, Ken G. Hall chose ON OUR SELECTION, starring Bert Bailey, for it's first Australian "talkie" in 1932. ON OUR SELECTION was a commercial success and Hall and Bailey went on to make three more 'Dad and Dave' films in the 1930s.

By 1937 when the radio serial went to air the Australian public were well-acquainted with the Rudd family. It was eagerly accepted by audiences, to all-time high radio ratings. The theme song "On the Road to Gundagai" was chosen and Snake Gully (somewhere vaguely in NSW) was put on the map.